


Legacy

by wintersnow999



Series: Scientists Are People Too (The Glass Scientists Short Stories feat. The Lodgers) [1]
Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Emotions, F/M, Gen, In Which Someone Is Actually Straight, In Which Wyn Pours Like Half Their Headcanon Ideas Into One Sad Short Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-24 23:50:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13822050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersnow999/pseuds/wintersnow999
Summary: Mr. Tweedy was the happiest man in the world.......Was.





	Legacy

     Mr. Tweedy was the happiest man in the world.

     It wasn’t hard to see. It showed in the way he worked, the way he walked, the way he laughed at every joke and never missed a chance to make someone feel better, in his own boisterous manner.

     It showed in the way he loved his wife.

 

     She didn’t come to the Society often, but whenever she came knocking at the great double doors, every Lodger knew the sound.

     It was

          Three

               Quick

                    Raps

     in a row, then

          f o u r

               s  l  o  w  e  r

     ones. Whichever Lodger was closest to the door would go running for Mr. Tweedy’s room and call him over so he could be the one to open the doors and meet her with a tight embrace.

     Her name was Samanthe Lewis.

 

     It was clear for all to see when Tweedy’s eyes lit up in a way they never did for anyone else. They would meet at the door, and she would laugh, and then their children would come bursting in.

     Oliver Tweedy and Baxter Tweedy Jr. were six and ten, respectively. Oliver would always run to hug his father first, then skip off to talk with Dr. Maijabi about scary stories. Samanthe never minded- she trusted every one of the Lodgers with her children more than she trusted her own mother. She said so, too.

     “You know as well as I do that my dear old mother would have accidentally lost Oliver down the drain-pipe by now,” she would joke. Samanthe’s every second word was a joke or some well-intended witticism, and whenever she made one, Baxter Tweedy Senior was lightning-quick to follow with one of his own. They would banter back and forth until Baxter invariably surrendered, laughing and saying that he was no match for her.

     “You deserve some cleverer man, Lewis,” he would always tell her, and she would always respond the same way, telling him that he was by far the cleverest man she had ever known, then adding that he should stop calling her Lewis.

     “Old habits die hard, Lewis,” he would reply, and then dodge the joking smack she would aim at his shoulder.

     Baxter Tweedy Junior would stand dignifiedly at the door, walk in slowly, and shake hands with his namesake. They would exchange polite greetings, after which the young gentleman would stand still, trying to restrain himself, then he would careen into his father’s arms and laugh, then run to sit with Doctors Jekyll and Lanyon to talk politely about the people of upper-class London.

     “Politely”, that is. About as polite as how the rest of London discussed the Society. Which was to say, really not at all polite. Tweedy Senior agreed that it was perfectly fine, as long as Samanthe never found out. Of course she already knew, but for the sake of Doctor Lanyon’s dignity, kept to herself.

     That, as everyone in the Society knew, had been before everything changed.

 

     Mr. Walter Pennebrygg had been there on that fateful morning.

     There had not been the three quick knocks that day. Only the last four, hesitant and quiet.

     Watching from the balcony, Pennebrygg saw as Miss Ito opened the door to the sad, scared faces of the two Tweedy heirs and a short, round man no one recognized. He had introduced himself, somewhat unpleasantly, to Miss Ito and asked to see Mr. Tweedy. “This is urgent, may I add, so as quickly as possible… Miss… Ito.”

     Ito gritted her teeth, but ran off in search of Baxter Tweedy Senior. The round man, uninvited, took a seat in the main foyer while the two children stood silently waiting.

     The look on Oliver’s face as he locked eyes with Mr. Pennebrygg was terrible.  _ No child should have that gaze, _ the scientist had thought, looking away.

     Mr. Tweedy had come rushing into the foyer, face pale, crossing the floor in five long strides. He had crouched and said something to his elder child in a voice too low to hear from where Pennebrygg stood, then straightened, face unreadable, a strange look for the man who had always worn his emotions on his sleeve.

     The round man had spoken to him and Tweedy had responded in a tone that could be described as robotic. Oliver had finally broken down and fell into his father’s arms, sobbing.

     The round man had given a brisk, apathetic bow and left the Society. The doors had closed with the heavy silence that surrounded the scene of a tragedy.

     Pennebrygg recalled having rushed down the stairs and asking his friend what had happened.

     Tweedy’s eyes were dark. In a hollow voice, he had explained how the freak accident had occurred, how the carriage had been out of control, and how Samanthe had died in the hospital early that morning.

 

     Mr. Tweedy was the happiest man in the world.

     Was.

     He still smiled while he worked, still walked with a spring in his step, still laughed at every joke and never missed a chance to make someone feel better.

     But Mrs. Samanthe Lewis never came to those doors, and Baxter Tweedy’s eyes never sparkled in that same way again.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a loooot of headcanon ideas for Tweedy for no reason at all other than the fact that he's my favourite Lodger, so here's some of them, I guess
> 
> If any one of y'all ever want something around this length about one or more of the Lodgers, I'd be pleased to do it for you! Just come at me in a DM on Tumblr and tell me what you want! Happy reading!


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